An unplanned hiatus! Things just got really hectic at work, and since I started CFA revision free time has been rather elusive to say the least. I’m not sure if I’ve completely rescued Project 48 yet  (how is it May already??), but at least I’m almost at double digits!

I have still been painting regularly and am averaging 5 hours each weekend,  so dear Rhino has been progressing well.   Also my giraffe whom I have named Molly is hanging, perhaps slightly self consciously, alongside the works of other artists in the studio I go to  – my first exhibition!

First let’s see how the as-yet-nameless Rhino is doing. My last update was in February, and since then I have made quite a lot of progress on the table, face and hands.

Fast forward to May and this is how he looks now!

I’ve changed the shade of the blue numerous times through lack of planning and am a little unsure about the wallpaper, but will see how it evolves. The hands have actually been a lot of fun after the tough time I had with the John and Ollie portrait. The funny thing was that as I was essentially using my own hands as a reference point, despite being  very conscious that I’d need to make all limbs beefier, he still ended up having very feminine hands in the first round. The ruff is proving to be quite a challenge, but I bought a new set of short and very thin brushes that I’m loving for the detailed work. You get so much more control compared to conventional long handled brushes.

For Project 9  I repainted an ikea shoe rack we have been using for plants. It was red and is now  pale blue as I’m trying to create more of a restful vibe in the living room.  Project 10 was a little terrarium.  Some may say it’s a trend that has passed it’s prime, but I do like them and am hoping the contained environment will reduce the suicide risk. I think I should probably go to a nursery again – some of the shortcuts like buying potting mix from the market which contained more charcoal than soil haven’t really worked out.  Unfortunately despite living in the tropics and sneezing distance of the equator, our flat is actually quite dark thanks to the tinted AND recessed windows – what were they thinking.. The shape of the terrarium isn’t quite right either as I wanted a much bigger container,  but it’s still quite sweet and can serve as a reminder to water plants as it sits pretty on the coffee table.